California contingency removal deadline: how the RPA clock works

The California contingency removal deadline is the date by which a buyer on the C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) is expected to remove the investigation, loan and appraisal contingencies in writing, or cancel. Miss it and the deal does not end by itself. What changes is what the seller is allowed to do next.

Quick answer: In the RPA, the investigation, appraisal and loan contingencies each default to 17 days after Acceptance unless the parties write in a different number. Removal must be in writing. If the buyer misses the date, the seller has to deliver a Notice to Buyer to Perform, which gives at least 2 more days, before the seller can cancel.

What are the default contingency periods in the California RPA?

The RPA puts its timelines in a table near the front of the form. Each contingency line reads “17 (or ___) Days after Acceptance,” so a blank means 17 calendar days. The text we checked line by line is the 12/21 version.

C.A.R. released a revised RPA in December 2025, and the full text sits in its member forms library. Before you rely on any default below, look at the timeline table on the version your clients signed. You can see the current form list on the C.A.R. standard forms page.

Item	RPA default	Counted from
Initial deposit to escrow	3 business days	Acceptance
Seller delivers disclosures and reports	7 days	Acceptance
Investigation of property	17 days	Acceptance
Review of seller documents and preliminary title report	17 days, or 5 days after receipt if later	Acceptance or receipt
Appraisal contingency	17 days	Acceptance
Loan contingency	17 days	Acceptance
Close of escrow	No default, negotiated	Acceptance or a fixed date

If someone on the file insists the loan contingency is 21 days, they learned on the older form. The RPA used from 2014 until the 2021 revision set the loan contingency at 21 days. The 12/21 text moved it to 17.

How does contingency removal work in California?

Removal is never automatic under the RPA. The buyer signs a written removal, which is delivered to the seller’s side, either all at once or one contingency at a time.

• Each contingency is its own line. Removing the loan contingency does not remove the appraisal contingency, and the reverse is also true.
• Once a contingency is removed, that exit is closed. The buyer can no longer cancel on that ground, and the deposit is more exposed if the buyer backs out later.
• A deadline passing is not a removal. The RPA says that after the contingency period ends, and until the seller cancels, the buyer keeps the right to remove remaining contingencies or cancel based on one still in place.

Most removal trouble starts earlier in the file, with late or incomplete seller disclosures. Our California disclosure package audit covers what should arrive inside that 7-day window.

What is a Notice to Buyer to Perform, and how long is the cure period?

The Notice to Buyer to Perform (C.A.R. Form NBP) is how a seller turns a missed deadline into a right to cancel. Under the RPA it must give the buyer at least 2 Days after Delivery to act. It also cannot be delivered any earlier than 2 Days before the contingency period it relates to expires.

Get the form right. The RPA says a notice that is delivered incorrectly, or that gives less time than required, is invalid and void. If the seller’s side sends one early or short, the clock has not started.

When can a California seller cancel for a missed removal?

Only after the Notice to Buyer to Perform runs out with no written removal or cancellation from the buyer. At that point the seller may cancel in writing.

Until the seller delivers that cancellation, the buyer can still remove the contingency. So a buyer’s agent who is late should get the removal signed and delivered the moment the loan or inspection picture is clear, not wait to be asked.

How are days counted, and what happens on weekends and holidays?

• “Days” in the RPA means calendar days. The only exception is the initial deposit, which runs in business days.
• The first Day after an event is the first full calendar date after it. Acceptance day itself is not counted.
• Performance is due by 11:59 p.m. on the last day.
• If the last day for performance of any act required by the agreement, including close of escrow, lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the performing party gets until the next day that is not one.

The RPA does not define “legal holiday.” California’s statutory list in Government Code 6700 is longer than the federal one and includes days such as Admission Day on September 9 and Native American Day on the fourth Friday in September, when most escrow offices stay open. Our calculator rolls dates past the major holidays only, so it can show a date one day earlier than the broadest reading, never later. Performing by the earlier date is the safe habit.

Worked example: Acceptance on November 5, 2026

Say Acceptance is Thursday, November 5, 2026. The parties keep every default and set close of escrow at 30 days.

Deadline	Raw date	Deadline after roll
Initial deposit (3 business days)	Tue, Nov 10, 2026	Tue, Nov 10, 2026
Seller disclosures (7 days)	Thu, Nov 12, 2026	Thu, Nov 12, 2026
Investigation, appraisal and loan contingencies (17 days)	Sun, Nov 22, 2026	Mon, Nov 23, 2026, 11:59 p.m.
Close of escrow (30 days)	Sat, Dec 5, 2026	Mon, Dec 7, 2026

Now the loan approval stalls, and the buyer removes nothing by 11:59 p.m. on November 23. The listing agent delivers a Notice to Buyer to Perform on the morning of Tuesday, November 24. Day 1 is Wednesday, November 25. Day 2 is Thursday, November 26, which is Thanksgiving. Under the RPA’s roll rule for any act required by the agreement, the buyer has until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 27 to remove the contingencies or cancel.

If the buyer does neither, the seller may cancel in writing starting Saturday, November 28.

The executed contract controls, so confirm every date with the agent, broker or attorney on the file before you calendar it.

Frequently asked questions

Does a California contingency expire automatically if the buyer does not remove it?

Not under the RPA. After the deadline passes, the contingency stays in place until the seller delivers a Notice to Buyer to Perform, the cure period runs out, and the seller cancels in writing. Until the seller cancels, the buyer can still remove the contingency or cancel based on it. Check the version of the form you signed.

Is the California loan contingency 17 days or 21 days?

In the 12/21 RPA text, the loan contingency defaults to 17 days after Acceptance, the same as investigation and appraisal. The older RPA used from 2014 until 2021 set it at 21 days, which is why you still hear that number. C.A.R. revised the form again in December 2025, so read the timeline table on your signed version.

Can a seller send a Notice to Buyer to Perform before the deadline?

Yes, but not too early. The RPA says the notice may not be delivered any earlier than 2 Days before the contingency period expires, and it must give the buyer at least 2 Days after delivery to act. A notice that gives less time, or is delivered incorrectly, is invalid and void, so the clock never starts.

Do weekends count in a California contingency period?

Yes. RPA days are calendar days, so weekends and holidays count while the period runs. Only the last day matters: if it lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the deadline moves to the next day that is not one. The initial escrow deposit is the exception, because it is counted in business days.

Want every date on your next California file in one place? Enter the Acceptance date in our free California closing deadline calculator and download the calendar or spreadsheet, or book a call with Lisa to have a California transaction coordinator track removals and notices for you.